October 12, 2015 — A little more than a week ago, the simmering battle between DMS firms and other automotive retail vendors over data access and integration went nuclear. To be fair, the issue has plagued the automotive retail space for more than 20 years as certain DMS firms have sought to restrict or control third party…
October 8, 2015 — The United Auto Workers Union reached a second tentative agreement with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles late last night minutes after a midnight strike deadline had passed. Not much yet is known about the terms of the new deal that still has be voted on by FCA’s 40,000 factory employees but UAW head… Continue Reading
October 1, 2015 — More bad news for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as the United Auto Workers Union rejects the proposed new labor contract this week raising significant questions about future production costs for the automaker. Meanwhile, significant problems on the recall side lurk beneath the surface and indicate deeper systemic issues. United Auto Worker leaders flew…
October 1, 2015 — After four extensions and other delays resulting from stipulations from the Department of Justice, Cox Automotive completed the $4 billion acquisition of Dealertrack this morning. Cox is paying $63.25 per share of Dealertrack common stock which ceases trading today on the NASDAQ Global Market. It is the biggest vendor acquisition in the… Continue Reading
September 25, 2015 — The Volkswagen diesel scandal has quickly become one of the year’s biggest stories since it erupted a week ago. The fallout has been brutal, with a 38% decline in stock price knocking nearly $30 billion off of the automaker’s market cap in just two days while forcing out CEO Martin Winterkorn.… Continue Reading
September 18. 2015 — Following up on July and August’s torrid pace of 40 dealerships each month changing owners, the first 18 days of September has had at least 20 stores with new owners — including 11 this week alone. (That does not include the 11 Sam Swope stores AMSI is expected to close on in the…
September 18, 2015 — Why you need corporate security; Changes in car buying; Preparing for normalization; Why you’ll never buy a driverless vehicle; OEMs slack approach to cyber security; Co-op money – what’s it good for? Hyundai’s future dealership. The TBR Weekly Top 10 is our list of what we believe are the week’s must-read stories… Continue Reading
September 9, 2015 — In late July, following a sometimes bitter debate, the House Financial Services Committee cleared the way for legislation repealing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 2103 bulletin governing automotive lending. The move is a victory for The National Automobile Dealers Assn. which has lobbied vigorously the last two years to build bi-partisan… Continue Reading
September 9, 2015 — A torrid July and August in the dealership buy-sell market saw 81 rooftops change hands bringing the 2015 total to 322 through the first eight months of the year — just two shy of all of 2014’s total. Averaging about 40.25 buy-sells a month this year, the industry is on pace to…
September 4, 2015 — We’re putting the finishing touches on the July and August dealership buy-sell updates. It has been a vibrant and active summer, and as we enter the fall months, several large deals are rumored to be nearing the finish line, including the AMSI’s pending acquisition of 11 stores of the Sam Swope… Continue Reading